A June Visit to the Cows in Oberstaufen

by Heidi Obermeyer

Last weekend I headed out to Oberstaufen to take a little break from the extremely manageable and reasonably-sized big city. It’s always slightly surreal to get on the train and realize that I’m only 2 hours away from a place that usually feels (and is) time zones away from my daily life. Such a relaxing experience- and Allgäu… people, Allgäu is beautiful. All the wildflowers are blooming and it was the first sunny weekend of the summer and life is suddenly grand I tell ya, just grand!

Allgäu, Germany

Allgäu (pronounced al-goy, but in a pretty way, you know?) is really more of a German vacation destination than one for international visitors. Allgäu is known around Germany for Bergkäse (mountain cheese) that’s somewhere around our mild cheddar and swiss cheese, so some of the key quaintness contributors are the cows. One of my favorite things in Germany, they just charm you right from the beginning with their clanging bells and fuzzy faces. Ab-so-lute-ly adorable!

Allgäu, Germany

Here’s a particularly friendly one of the lil’ guys getting up close and personal:

Allgäu, Germany

The cows live in the mountains during the summer, where they’re fairly self-sufficient since there’s plenty for them to eat and sunshine to nap in. The water troughs are usually carved out of long logs, which adds a nice rustic touch to the whole experience!

Allgäu, Germany

Cows are such funny creatures. I caught this one with its tongue in a bit of an awkward position accidentally, which I must say I laughed out loud at while looking at the pictures later.

Allgäu, Germany

Traditional Bavarian homes typically have window boxes filled to the brim with geraniums.

Allgäu, Germany

Since the weather had finally warmed up after several weeks of rain, we ate outside, including for breakfast, which is a very hearty selection of bread, cheese, and yogurt, as well as coffee (I underestimated the Germans as coffee drinkers- you always hear about the beer, but the coffee here is excellent and plentiful too!) to start off the day.

Allgäu, Germany

Once I’m out and about wandering around I can never resist taking pictures of the seemingly endless varieties of wildflowers.

Allgäu, Germany

Or even the ones in the garden, for that matter.

Allgäu, Germany

I’m so grateful that I’m able to get out of the city when I want to and to be living in such a beautiful part of Germany, and Europe for that matter. Dreaming about how pleasant the summer is in Allgäu is what got me through a particularly dark winter and I’m so excited that it’s finally here!